Raney’s Rules #2 Le Trench…


By Denise Mpinga. Before spending a couple of months in Paris, Raney recommended that I read Debra Ollivier’s book, “Entre Nous: A Woman’s Guide to Finding Her Inner French Girl.” I read it after I came back. And have to say I enjoyed her insights into that “je ne sais quoi” of fashionable Parisians. The book gives some awesome tidbits into adapting an iconic French girl style that rocks.


Paris has a who’s who of fashion designers spanning centuries. Coco Chanel, Givenchy, Yves Saint Laurent, Jean Paul Gaultier. Mainstream artsy design houses such as Cop Copine. In the hands of the French, fashion is definitely art with attitude. Coco Chanel is famously quoted as saying – “Girls should be two things: classy and fabulous.”


This leads me to my favorite classy and fabulous French girl look. Chalk it up to being in Paris in the Spring with its grey light and cold nights. It’s the trench coat. Le Trench as I call it, sums up the best of Parisian style – chic, understated and elegant.


It’s funny though, the trench coat isn’t even a French invention. It’s a British invention according to Nancy MacDonnell Smith, author of “The Classic Ten: The True Story of the Little Black Dress and Nine Other Fashion Favorites.”


“World War I, the same conflict that gave us trench warfare and trench foot, saw the introduction of the trench coat. The new coat was intended to keep officers dry and warm in the trenches, hence the name…The coats were made for the British army by Burberry.”


In 1968, Yves Saint Laurent showcased his interpretation of the trench, cutting it closer to the body. The list of classic French beauties rocking “le trench” is endless – There’s Francoise Hardy, Catherine Deneuve and Charlotte Gainsbourg to name a few. This beautiful black lace coat by Anne Fontaine stands out because of it’s “out-of-the-ordinary styling,.” It’s all about being enigmatic, alluring, sexy and subtle – I think I found my inner French girl.


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